Boxes of Memories

Today I went through two boxes of memories. One was a sealed plastic box with a slit in the top that I have been throwing movie tickets and school notes into for years now. The other was a box full of birthday cards and random letters that I have saved. I was planning on throwing them all away...but can I really do that? To some, yes. But where do you draw the line? How do I know what I will want to look back on later? I have novels that my friend Benedita wrote me in 7th grade when she moved to Portugal for a year (yet at the time it was indefinitely). I have clever and witty birthday cards from my brothers. I have notes my friends and I passed in school about drama that I can't even remember, and graduation invitations from friends. I have movie tickets, play tickets, dance concert programs, and event passes of things I had totally forgotten. It was quite fun to go through them all--but I am just being a pack-rat if I save them? Maybe I'll have to go through again and really look at the ones that have meaning to me.

One that I came across has a funny story that Emily had to remind me of. There was this kid in high school who always wore a suit. Always. Somehow, he talked to me one day. Just minor things--I never saw him for more than a brief passing in the hallways. One day, he came up to me and handed me this letter. It's really well written, but slightly creepy...

A satirical and fictitious love letter to Ms. Rachel Clarke (he spelled my name wrong)

Dearest Rachel,

My feelings for you are as deep as the pits of pandemonium. My passion for you is almost unrivaled. But alas and woe for me, except the blessed soul who accompanies you now! It is not my only wish that you are engulfed in an ocean of bless with this good man of yours, and that he may have no doubt in commitment for you.

It is knowledge from the general public that other than being unbearably gorgeous, you are an intensively meticulous person. There is sufficient rumor that in your locker and possibly under your mattress that you have a list, which is five inches wide and seven and a half meters long of all the suitors who have proposed for your alliance. It is rumored that you have a brilliantly meager number of eight hundred and twenty suitors, whose names are written upon that catalog. I cannot help but feel great outrage at this statistic. For one as honorable as yourself, there should be at least seven thousand or more of these lustful pickles who dare court you.

What reason why I would write this letter, is to offer you a proposal. There is perhaps grim reason in the future and hopefully only through the consent of your own emotions that you may discharge your lucky fellow and move down through the number of suitors upon your list. I ask you, not from lechery or wish of marriage yet, but of enduring and ever lasting love, that you mark my name under slot five hundred and twenty six on your lengthy list. Such a number I know is not a modest proposal, and for an unworthy toad like myself, should bargain only for at least seven hundred and fifty four or the nine hundred and thirteenth slot. However, my dear lady, I have reason to argue for my bold proposal to be number five hundred and twenty six.

As a musician, I excel unsurpassed as a kazoo virtuoso. I have received great praise for my unrivaled talent on the kazoo from numerous competitors and other well esteemed critics. The tones and timbres that I am able to create through my plastic instrument have brought warmth and satisfaction to numerous people of different tastes: I think you couldn't help but to agree also. I am a talented juggler. I can toss oranges, tomatoes, torches, books, magazines, three of seven hamsters, knives, plates, on-line vibrators and cellular telephones.

In closing, after making further calculations of my proposal, I have determining that I will be ninety-eight years old by the time you elope with number five hundred and twenty four. However my dear, such a time for myself to abide will be worth the wait, if you reach number five hundred and twenty six.

Cordially yours,
Sean (not the kids name who wrote the letter, just a alias)

Day 2 of Madison, also known as Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving! Let the eating begin...The girls and I started out strong by making these strange raspberry jello puffy meringue cookies (with chocolate chips) that we have grown to love. The recipe comes from Emily, so we always make them at her house. This time she insisted that we actually follow the instructions and let them "cool" in the oven from 20 extra minutes. Luckily for us, she went downstairs to get something and we snagged a few before the cooling process was complete.


After cookie eating, I went home to help with the final preparations for the Thanksgiving feast. Though my parents think there were fiascoes happening, the meal turned out fabulously, and we have too many leftovers to handle, especially in the pie area. But, there could be worse things than too much pie.

The Best Time Zone

I can't really calculate the hours I spent traveling today because I went from Mountain Time, to Eastern Time, and then to the best time, Central! I came home today for the first time since last Christmas. It's been too long. I'm always impressed by the things that have changed when I come home: new buildings, new neighborhood signs, redecorated bathrooms, a new cuisinart mixer... There are plenty of constants about home that I absolutely love--

1. The small, yet classy airport. You can get out of there in three minutes.
2. My parents. I guess sometime they might leave Madison, thus not being a constant, but so far in my life, Madison = parents.
3. Diversity. Remember, I came from Provo.
4. My friends, Emily, Benedita, and Augusta. This is the first time we have all been in Madison together since...May of 2008. We went to the Jelly Belly Factory (totally awesome).
5. Wasabi! Mmmm..sushi...amazing sushi.

I am so excited to spend 4 days doing all the other things I love about Madison...

Pre-Thanksgiving Feast

Oh, how I love Thanksgiving! Last year, my roommates and I cooked up our own little Thanksgiving before they all left for their homes. Last years highlight was that Joce brought a whole turkey from her house and we de-gutted it and cooked it. We felt pretty accomplished. This year, we didn't have a whole turkey, but we did expand in size. The menu was comprised of: rolls, salad, cheese fondu, cooked veggies, sweet potato caserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, and of course, turkey!The guest list included:
Joce and Ronie...
Cami and Bret...
Jacque...
Valentina...
Nate and Lauren...
and yes, I was there, too.
After we ate, some more than others (Jocelyn promised her mom she wouldn't "spoil" her real Thanksgiving and so she didn't eat much), we played a few rounds of Swedish Twister. It got pretty intense.


After Twister, we ate pumpkin pie. By now, I was pretty dang stuffed, so, as is tradition in my family, I sprawled out on the floor. Unfortunately for me, it was Ronie's tradition to make a dog pile. I got smashed on the bottom.

Un-Hallow-Halloween

Last year on Halloween, I tried to go looking for a costume. Bad idea. I guess I didn't learn my lesson, because this year we tried to get some pumpkins. We really didn't look any farther than the closest Smiths, so we didn't try too hard. There was one measly pumpkin in the whole grocery store. So we bought squashes instead, and some washable paints. We tried to find some unwashable paints, but everything these days is washable. Nothing will permanently stick to the furniture, your clothes, or the table anymore. Blast. It ended up being good though, so we could erase or fix our errors. Anyway, here are some pictures to show our very un-halloweeny halloween. Oh, and "our" means Valentina, her brother, and me.

I did, in fact, turn 21!

This happened quite a while ago, over a month, in fact, but it did in fact happen. I turned 21. Finally a real adult? I'm not so sure. But my roommates threw me a fun party. Lauren made homemade ice cream and a Kentucky Butter Cake, which everyone loved. But what made it the best for me was all the people I love! Drum roll, please...Ex-home teachers (above in black hat and below in light blue shirt), old ward friends who moved to another complex, and some people I've never met before.

A couple dancers buddies stopped by: Cody (above), and Aaron (below)
Ex-roommate, Cami, and her hubbie, Bret. They are the best.
My cousins! Melanie and Karl.
My favorite people from Wisconsin, Whitney and Emma
And, MY FAVORITE ROOMMATES! Valentina, Lauren, and Jocelyn. They really are the best. I can't believe I got so lucky to absolutely love the people I am living with for two years of my life. This college experience would definitely be a totally different ride without them in my life.